OOTS #943 - The Discussion Thread

[Raphite1]

Possibly the most hilarious "Julio forcing narrative convention and Elan playing along" scene.

Voice-over through a can. Heh.

Doubly hilarious because Elan just had a major life experience learning about the pitfalls of forcing narrative in the extreme. A nice reminder that he's still Elan, and totally willing to force a dramatic parting narrative with his mentor!

[kenlund]

It has been so weird having these recent calmer strips. This comic has been a roller coaster of action for so long.

Anywho, I was glad to see Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator still around. He will be an awesome asset in battle. They can just carry him around easily until they need him and then cast dispel magic or whatever will undo Baleful Polymorph. Instant dinosaur...like cup of soup.

[David Argall]

Neatly wrapping up the "but Julio can just return and solve all their problems later too!" crowd.

Well, of course Julio will return and solve all their problems!

With his finely tuned dramatic instinct, he will choose just the right moment to check on Elan, using Arborea's epic scrying pool, and will plane shift to save the Order as a lame Deus Ex Arborea.

Are you really sure you are kidding? We had much better reason to think we had seen the last of Scoundrel last time.
A more likely scenario: Book 6: The party destroys the last gate, but is pulled into the rift.
Book 7: Among a variety of adventures there, the party runs into the retired Scoundrel [who is just touring the planes and of course is none too happy to see them, given what can happen to retired mentors].
About the only reason to think something like this won't happen is our writer's reluctance to repeat themes. But that reluctance is hardly absolute, and the change from his going to the party to an accidental meeting can be quite enough variety to happen.

[Shale]

Still, the idea of defined rules for a Chaos weapon seems kind of ironic, doesn't it?

Well, when it comes down to it, playing D&D by the rules is pretty darn Lawful.

[Sir_Leorik]

Minor nitpick: Blackwing was also in the montage of witnesses during the trial.

You're correct, I forgot that Blackwing testified against the Order at the trial , but Roy did say that he didn't know where the prosecution was getting all these witnesses, didn't he?

[Joseph_Lavode]

Elan knows not to ruin the drama, Haley!

[ti'esar]

That was entertaining.

Edit: On a note that I don't think anyone has brought up yet, this certainly looks like the kiss of death for all those "the Order won't acknowledge Blackwing's existence because something happened when he stared into the rift" theories that used to be floating around.

[Porthos]

I literately laughed out loud for thirty seconds or so when I got to the 'turn around' bit. Classic moment, expertly delivered.

Re-reading it, the voiceover explains why Haley was looking confused in panel five. Though, of course, we would think she had that expression for an entirely different reason initially.

Glad to see the whole Haley/Blackwing thing addressed finally (and count me as part of the forum that got it wrong). Ain't gonna lie. I still think it was poorly executed. But at least its been addressed, so in the grand scheme of things, it ain't no thing.

...

Still grinning like a fool at the punchline to this comic, so that more than makes up for it.

[rewinn]

IRL "the head" was generally located at the bow end, where the natural spray simplified cleaning, according to this. How this translated to aerial vehicles I couldn't say, but perhaps magic is involved.

Oddly to our ears, the Poop deck is at the other end of a ship. (Insert your own joke here). This could provide plenty of material for a pun battle, but somehow I don't think The Giant will go there.

[RdMarquis]

Heh, nice. That was pretty funny.

...And I should get a can and see how well that works.

[Amphiox]

Oh Julio, I'm gonna miss you.

Also, what is with Elan getting new swords in just about every story arc? Is this his third or his fourth one?

It is just the inevitable consequence of Elan having his weapons sundered being a recurring joke/theme (as it is not always a joke...)

A Dashing Swordsman can't be fencing with his fingers, you know...

[orrion]

Are you really sure you are kidding? We had much better reason to think we had seen the last of Scoundrel last time.
A more likely scenario: Book 6: The party destroys the last gate, but is pulled into the rift.
Book 7: Among a variety of adventures there, the party runs into the retired Scoundrel [who is just touring the planes and of course is none too happy to see them, given what can happen to retired mentors].
About the only reason to think something like this won't happen is our writer's reluctance to repeat themes. But that reluctance is hardly absolute, and the change from his going to the party to an accidental meeting can be quite enough variety to happen.

What can happen to retired mentors is precisely why Julio is making exit plans.

There's nothing to suggest that the world on the other side of the rift is a plane itself and even if it is that anyone has access to it. Or why the hell Julio would want to go there in the first place.

As for having better reasons, Julio's arrival was foreshadowed. If you see foreshadowing of Julio showing up after he's out of the picture this time around then feel free to point it out. Until that happens you've got nothing. You're just making leaps to fit your version of the story.

[Broken Crown]

Am I the only one who interpreted Julio's "long overdue vacation in… Arborea" as meaning that he is expecting not merely to retire, but to die? His Chaos Sabre won't be of much use to him in that case, and his questing days will certainly be behind him.

If this is so, his remark to Elan, "I can't wait to hear the tale," sounds a little bit sinister.

I don't seriously think this was Julio's intention, but I did find the implied meaning striking.

Anyway, thanks for yet another great comic, Giant!

[Cuthalion]

Will there be a unusual gap between books? Has there been in the past?

[Shale]

There were hiatuses of about a month each between books three and four, and books four and five (there's still a "The Order Of The Stick Will Return on X Day" note at the bottom of the book-ending strips if you go into the archive).

[zimmerwald1915]

A Holy Avenger is a sword that is a low magic (+2) cold iron longsword for anyone except a Paladin, and a very, very powerful (+5 Holy, can cast Dispel Magic once per round as a standard action) cold iron longsword in the hands of a Paladin.

The Chaos Sabre being something similar for Dashing Swordsmen makes a great deal of sense, given that it's being treated as a powerful weapon.

Nah, don't you see? Wielding the chaos sabre turns a character into the Black Luster Soldier

[Porthos]

Am I the only one who interpreted Julio's "long overdue vacation in… Arborea" as meaning that he is expecting not merely to retire, but to die?

No, you're not. But let me state for the record two things:

A) I'm not boarding this incipient bandwagon.

B) I think this is a case of overthinking things. Sometimes a cigar is a cigar and all that.

What I DO think is that Julio was intentionally playing up the parallels about dying. Mostly for the humor value. But since this is D&D, he can and will just plane shift over there.

'sides, If Julio is expecting to go to Arborea when he dies, he might be in for a bit of a shock when he does in fact kick the bucket.

[Thrillhouse]

I love how Elan doesn't even turn around.

[LadyEowyn]

Oh, come on! You're not going to show us V's confession? It's happening offscreen? I've been waiting for that for something like a year or more!

Really hoping we get to see something of that in the next few strips.

[orrion]

Am I the only one who interpreted Julio's "long overdue vacation in… Arborea" as meaning that he is expecting not merely to retire, but to die? His Chaos Sabre won't be of much use to him in that case, and his questing days will certainly be behind him.

If this is so, his remark to Elan, "I can't wait to hear the tale," sounds a little bit sinister.

I don't seriously think this was Julio's intention, but I did find the implied meaning striking.

Anyway, thanks for yet another great comic, Giant!

Considering he's Chaotic Neutral (as shown here) and Arborea is a Chaotic Good plane, no, I don't interpret it as death for him.

[Scifne]

I kind of wish Bloodfeast could go with Julio. I like him, and if he stays with the party, I worry that he is too expendable.

[Sir_Leorik]

Am I the only one who interpreted Julio's "long overdue vacation in… Arborea" as meaning that he is expecting not merely to retire, but to die? His Chaos Sabre won't be of much use to him in that case, and his questing days will certainly be behind him.

Listen to this Clueless Prime. Thinks that anyone Out of Town has been written into the Deadbook! Well here's the Dark of it, Berk: it's possible for you Primes to travel to the Outer Planes and go on grand adventures before you're hanged on the leafless tree. Course you gotta watch out for coney catchers looking to peel you, and if you get scragged on the Great Wheel you're scragged for good, but let's face it: you ain't lived until you've left the Prime behind you.

[Sir_Leorik]

Oh, come on! You're not going to show us V's confession? It's happening offscreen? I've been waiting for that for something like a year or more!

Really hoping we get to see something of that in the next few strips.

We'll probably get an opening panel of V saying "And then the archfiends released my soul and I joined you and our colleagues in battle."

The rest of the strip will be Roy mulling over everything V has told him about the horrible things she did, about the IFCC, and about the other world beyond the rifts.

[BrotherMirtillo]

Nah, don't you see? Wielding the chaos sabre turns a character into the Black Luster Soldier

Yes, but first, you have to convince one Good person and one Evil person to move from their afterlife realms to a demiplane. Elan will reveal this in a highly-tense one-on-one battle, possibly sporting a new hairdo for the occasion. The enemy will slowly stop boasting about having killed Belkar and re-killed Durkon (who both fought valiantly) just in time for Elan to call their spirits for this job.

The finishing touch is that one of Zz'dtri's wands is a spell called Dimension Fusion Door, which lets Elan pay one-quarter of his max HP to summon all entities from this demiplane. Cue the return of Durkon and Belkar at full strength.

There will be backlighting and brassy music. Clothing will flutter in the wind. The enemy will probably explode.

[Legato Endless]

Nah, don't you see? Wielding the chaos sabre turns a character into the Black Luster Soldier

Who did Julio tribute to obtain it?

[Link]

Will there be a unusual gap between books? Has there been in the past?

there was 3 month gap in between book 3 and book 4.

[orrion]

Who did Julio tribute to obtain it?

One of Malack's vampire spawn, which he kidnapped from one of the weddings the day Nale killed the other spawns.

For the light side, after dropping Elan off he tracked down Setzer's airship that was also going to Azure City and captured.. let's say Relm because she's so obnoxious.. and used her.

[Link]

I kind of wish Bloodfeast could go with Julio. I like him, and if he stays with the party, I worry that he is too expendable.

plus he's way to big to stay on the airship

[Sir_Leorik]

plus he's way to big to stay on the airship

Not so long as he remains an adorable little lizard, rather than a huge rampaging dinosaur.

[SteveDJ]

Already TL;DR

It feels like the next-to-last frame is a bit off. Shouldn't Elan have turned to look behind him? It feels odd otherwise... worse because his expression didn't even change from the frame before, either.